What caused the Catholic Reformation?

A:

Quick Answer

There is no such thing as the Catholic Reformation, although there was a Protestant Reformation in 16th century Europe. This Reformation came out of the Christian practitioners frustration with the Catholic faith.

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These reformers believed that the Catholic Church was not paying attention to the doctrine in the Bible and was spending too much time creating beliefs that did not align with the Bible. They also were upset with the way that the leaders were chosen in the Catholic Church. They found that the Church was focused on keeping political power and religious power in a few hands rather than distributing power to the people of the Church.

The main reformers in the Protestant Reformation were Martin Luther, Henry VIII and John Calvin. Martin Luther is considered the prominent man behind the Reformation because he wrote "95 Theses" in 1517, which spoke to his ideas that the Bible should be the tool used to determine religious rules and not tradition. His "95 Theses" were what sparked the debate and led to the Reformation. Luther was also clever enough to think to use the printing press in order to reach a wide audience of Christians. Luther started his own church known as Lutheranism and was excommunicated from the Catholic Church.